


A New Gift

by mforpaul



Series: Sonny is a single dad AU [2]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Developing Relationship, Kid Fic, M/M, Single Parents, Sonny is a single dad AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 09:54:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20356543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mforpaul/pseuds/mforpaul
Summary: Head over heels the boys start a romantic relationship. Of course they both have fallen hard for each other and while their feelings are strong, life presents itself with challenges for their blossoming love. Meaning that Sonny has a son and Barba is not necessarily enthusiastic about that.Let's see where it goes?You don't need to have read the first part to read this (but you can of course).





	A New Gift

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Carisicrush](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Carisicrush).

> Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag, Jan!
> 
> I have been wanting to write this second part all along and I knew I was gonna gift it to Jan from the beginning because he is the biggest fan of this story. Thank you for reading and encouraging my writing so much and commenting in German, it makes me so happy! And I hope you like this!
> 
> Okay, all you need to know about the first part is that Sonny and Barba have gotten together. This second part is about navigating their relationship through the fact that Sonny has a little son. Feel free to read the first part anyway, you will get the supplies joke then. But when you read it I want you to know that the original prompt was "Sonny is a single dad and Barba a cold-hearted ADA and it's Christmas", so the first chapter of the first part is very influenced by that. Afterwards I let go of it and the next two chapters of the first part are much better and I usually wouldn't write Barba as mean as I did.

He’s such a dork.

His cheeks ache, his face is heated up and his eyelashes touch the skin around his eyes. Sonny should aim for sexy but he misses by miles. He knows he looks completely goofy, but he has no way of hiding his excitement. So when he closes the door of his son’s room behind him two thumbs up join the ludicrous expression on his face.

Barba sits comfortably on the couch, his legs crossed and he only returns Sonny's eagerness with a maybe much more graceful, yet equally flustered grin.

In his hand Barba swirls a glass of Scotch. The gesture is calm, soothing and mirrors everything the man is oozing, confidence, splendor and a little bit of smug. Yet, there is something wrong with the picture. And even though Sonny does exactly that, he doesn’t need a moment to halt and take in the scene to figure it out. Barba is by all means _beautiful_ and absolutely sexy, however there is something unexpectedly giddy in the way his lips wrinkle into a smirk: He doesn’t look as annoyed as he should considering Sonny’s childish anticipation.

In one smooth motion and not tearing an eye away from the man Sonny sits down next to him. The couch dips down and as expected Barba wastes no time. He uses no pretext or introduction, just shamelessly climbs into Sonny’s lap and crashes their lips together.

The sentiment is a soft one, but Barba’s hands are harsh. They grip Sonny’s hair, pull him closer as if Sonny had any chance to wrench out of Barba’s embrace in the first place.

“Oh…”

Sonny feels thrown back to their first time about four weeks ago when Barba had suddenly positioned himself in that very same spot on that very same couch.

It feels like everything has flown by so quickly: the sex, the break up and Barba being back. Everything in between though had passed viciously: the longing, the wondering and especially the heartbreak.

Maybe Sonny should worry about how quickly his heart had forgotten and forgiven, because right now with the man's tongue down his throat and his hips grinding against his nothing of this matters.

“You like sitting in my lap.”

“Oh, there are many more things I want to do in your lap.”

Sonny, quite sure that he and Barba have similar ideas there, lets his palms slide over Barba’s back until he reaches the man’s butt. Barba replies with a grin, a knowing one for sure but the filthy implication has a finesse to it. Sonny’s grin in return is blatant and leaves no doubt about his keenness.

“I’m surprised you didn’t go out to buy 'supplies'.”

“It’s too cold.” Barba wets his lips. He presses their foreheads together and fumbles at something on Sonny’s shirt. “Besides, you’re exceptionally good at sucking my dick. So it's okay for me to settle for that tonight.”

A big smirk splits Sonny's face. Sonny feels so warm, so incredibly warm that he should burst any second. Barba circles the tip of his nose over Sonny’s and they both smile at each other as if nothing else in the world makes sense.  
"I'm happy to hear you plan to get your dick sucked."  
"Was that ever not on the table?"  
"Rafi, there are very many things on the table, just choose."

Barba laughs. It makes Sonny’s heart jump for being so incredibly freeing.

“Sonny…”

“Yeah?”

Barba pauses and catches Sonny’s gaze. “I want this, I really do. But I’m scared.”

Sonny’s eyes trail along the worry lines in Barba’s round face. Barba’s mood had shifted into something more anxious, but a smile finds Sonny’s lips all the same.

“It’d be weird if we weren’t, right?”

“Telling me that you’re scared, too, doesn’t really help, Sonny.”

“It doesn’t mean that it’s wrong, it just means that we care about each other so much that it would hurt if it didn’t work out.”

Barba’s eyes are fixed on him. They are attentive, eager to miss nothing in Sonny’s expression.

“I didn’t figure you for such a pragmatic.”

“Oh, what? You want idealism? Okay then, true love always wins no matter what.”

The corner of Barba’s mouth goes up and something in his green eyes softens. _There it is_, amusement. And while this sentiment on Barba is intimidating in court, here between the two of them it feels, again, extremely freeing because it takes some of the weight off the heavy implications.

Sonny and his son had arrived home one hour ago, with cold-bitten faces and the exhaustion of Staten Island Christmas days in their bones. And it was only then when Sonny had found his true gift, his most generous Christmas miracle, waiting in front of their apartment building. The cruel December evening air had cut mercilessly into Barba's face, giving him an unintended although very fitting blush and an even redder nose. Sonny had not just found Barba incredibly sweet, and straight out adorable for being embarrassed about it. Yet, nothing makes Sonny's heart jump more than the fact that Barba had been there for the sole purpose of confessing his love for Sonny. And the oversized cuddly toy Barba had brought along for Leo has done nothing to distract from the romance of his gesture.

“Aren’t you worried about Leo?”

“I’m always worried about him.”

Barba rolls his eyes and takes a heavy breath. It is now Sonny’s corner of the mouth that twitches up. There is something very satisfactory about being able to solicit that kind of reaction out of him in a situation like this and Sonny knows he is going to make it a habit. Because this restraint pout in Barba’s distinctive face is a pure delight. He is cute when he’s mad. Sonny had always had a soft spot for this.

“You know what I mean.”

“Rafi, I don’t know what to say. Or do. I want you, I want to be with you. This feels right. I know Leo likes you, too, and if he somehow ends up in the middle of this… then I’m sorry. But it’s life.” Sonny’s hand find Barba’s cheeks and pull him down into a kiss, something deep and meaningful. “But this is good, it’s worth it.”

Barba swallows and licks over his bottom lip as if he wants to cherish the taste of Sonny there. “It is. I know it is.”

“Perfect!” Sonny bites his bottom lip and again feels a smile rolling up from the depths of his heart.

“Technically you didn’t say it back.” Barba lets his forehead drop onto Sonny’s and his voice is only a whisper.

“Oh my god, Rafi.” Sonny’s grips around the back of Barba’s head. They are impossibly close anyway and still Sonny feels like he wants to pull his lover even closer. “I’m absolutely in love with you. If you have any doubts about that I must be doing everything wrong.”

Barba’s lips press against Sonny, but he feels his smile all the same. Barba kisses him stormily until they both need to catch a breath.

“I love you, too.”

“Perfect!”

“But still, I wouldn’t mind if you started showing me in the next three to five sec-“

Sonny catches the last syllabus with his lips. Barba feels amazing, he smells amazing and Sonny feels like he doesn't get enough of any of it. He presses his nose in the crook of Barba's neck, his lips find soft skin and his dick twitches when Barba groans.

  
"Don't suck too hard."

  
"You left me a hickey last time!"

  
"That's because you look even more beautiful when I mark you."

  
A shiver runs down Sonny's spine and he wonders if Barba knows what he's doing to him. The warmth although thoroughly fueled by arousal doesn't originate from there. It's rather the inexplicable feeling in his gut that something has fallen into place. And Barba with his deep, arousal misted voice just affirms what Sonny is feeling all along. _I belong to you._

  
“Counselor, so much compliments, so unsolicited. How do I deserve that?”

  
Barba laughs at that. He knows of course why people think sympathy doesn’t come easy to him. He doesn’t like to place these soft tones into his life, simply because they mostly don’t help him much. Being a cutthroat bitch, a badass lawyer is exactly what victims need, self-contradictory maybe but nonetheless the reason why people like to mistake Barba for the picture they see. Sonny knows him better now. He had found the sweetness and even more than that he knows that it was hidden underneath fear and maybe something as precious as shyness.

  
“You deserve so much more.”

  
“Rafael…” Sonny can only whisper in response. He never shuts up, telling his feelings usually doesn’t come hard for him. But now, the awe is literally stunning him. He is enamored, and totally overwhelmed by it.

  
Here in his living room with Barba moving so perfectly in his lap he is even more smitten. His scent embraces him just like his hands do, rich, heavy and passionately. And even if their boners painfully rubbing against each other tells Sonny very explicitly where this is going, there is some deeper purpose in Barba's touch. His hands are tender as much they are demanding, they are desperate not just for arousal but also for affection. _I want this. I want you._

* * *

They disclose before the new year even starts. It seems cruel that Sonny spends a full forenoon first at 1 Hogan Place where Jack McCoy raises a bushy eyebrow at them: _Why are you doing this to me?_ and then at the 66th precinct where Liv looks at them for a full minute with an open mouth: _Wait, what?_. Sonny, probably pitied by his colleagues (Fin mostly) for having a son, doesn’t need to return to work between Christmas and New Year, but Barba does and he drags Sonny along to hand in the paperwork to their bosses.

Sonny, not that he minds, had mildly protested. _There is time. We can take it slow_, but Barba was surprisingly insistent: “We’re in this now.”

Something about Barba's determination makes Sonny feel weirdly touched. It's not like Sonny can't see him doing something desperate for the sole sake of doing it with no consideration for the outcome. ADA Barba does this on a daily basis and yet, the man always knows what he’s doing. But Sonny finds Barba unexpectedly inconsiderate in all of this. He doesn't do something that isn’t well thought through and Sonny thinks that if he did that Barba would handle this situation with more caution.

Nonetheless, Barba is quick to set a few ground rules. Amongst the obvious ones that mostly concern work, coworkers and family members is Barba's wish to have an evening to their own every week. The typical date night where they could fuck without needing to be quiet and where Sonny could spend the night at Barba's apartment.

What Barba means of course without saying so directly is an evening without Leo. Although to him as a father this feels like someone is puncturing his heart, Sonny can't blame him. A four and a half year old is a lot on a blossoming relationship. And even if Sonny feels bad to let Leo sleep at one of his three aunts or his grandparents once every week, he can't deny how good it feels all the same. After all it doesn't just mean a night off, it means a night with Barba.

It means doing all these things that you only do for the purpose of being together. Catch a movie, go out for dinner, snuggling up together under a blanket. Endless hours have passed by, mostly on Friday evenings, where they do nothing in particular except spending time together. Sometimes they talk, sometimes they’re too busy for that and sometimes they do neither.

They need this, Sonny knows this. Hell, he needs this. And still, Sonny can't deny the little disappointment in the back of his heart.

There is nothing to be forced of course and Sonny swears to himself that he won't ever, neither on Leo's part or Barba's. But still, Sonny has no way of not noticing all the other things Barba doesn’t say explicitly.

Naturally, they meet up at Sonny’s place except for date night. Barba comes after dinner most of the time and avoids Sunday mornings altogether. Barba makes no excuses and Sonny doesn’t ask for them.

Every now and then Sonny feels like Barba realizes this and feels the need to make it up. He then does suggest activities where Leo could come along. Barba is more or less coy about it: "I saw that a new frozen yogurt place has opened up a couple of blocks down." Sonny doesn't let himself be swayed and brings Leo along without asking for clarification. It’s just half an hour eating a dessert that Barba probably enjoys more than the boy and while Sonny should give Barba credit there, Sonny finds little gratification in Barba’s half-hearted attempts.

What Sonny disappoints the most is that Barba genuinely gets along well with Leo. Ice cream in the middle of February is no magic way into a boy’s heart, but in addition to that Leo genuinely enjoys these short Saturday afternoons out with Uncle Rafi.

It’s not just that. It is not just the ice creamed smeared mouth of a child who had been given what he wants. Sonny finds that Barba does have a way to naturally talk to the boy. After all, Sonny had spent the whole time in this frozen yogurt place quietly listening to his two boys discussing about the morality of cheating during family card games. (Leo had correctly argued that it’s okay as the big ones are giving him the example while Barba, also rightly, has pointed out that Leo needs to be better than them if he wishes the cheating to end.)

Maybe this is Barba trying. _No_, Sonny knows that this is Barba trying and quite frankly Sonny knows there is not much more he can ask for. Obviously he cannot force the two of them to have a relationship together, but still Sonny cannot help to yearn for exactly that. And while Sonny knows his boyfriend well enough to know that he makes an effort in his own way, Sonny is afraid that maybe Barba simply doesn’t want to.

And if that is the case it is only a matter of time before this all blows up into their faces.

But Sonny sure as hell is not going to ask. Only six weeks into their relationship is still fresh and Sonny prefers to avoid a fight. And quite frankly, if Barba really is that reserved about his child then Sonny prefers to not know.

* * *

“There are snails in my bed!”

The first time Leo enters their bedroom in the middle of the night is a couple of months into the relationship. Sonny who is versed with handling nightmares doesn’t even open his eyes. He simply holds up the blanket for Leo to hop into bed.

“Snails are only in Grandma’s garden, champ, don’t you worry.”

“I think they jumped into my backpack.”

Sonny is sure that his son, too, doesn’t even open his eyes when he finds space next to his father. Sonny throws an arm around his son who nestles against his chest. Behind his back Sonny feels Barba moving.

“What is happening?” Barba does open his eyes and reaches for the nightstand to blind himself with his phone.

“There are snails in my bed,” Leo informs him casually and Sonny can hear in his son’s voice that the boy is close to drifting off again.

“What?”

“He just had a nightmare.”

Sonny dozes off around one second after he finished saying this sentence.

In the morning, Barba is gone.

He is not really gone, he is just snoring on the couch. Sonny guesses that he must be happy that Barba didn't just pack his stuff and went home because a glance at Barba’s phone had told him that it had been close enough to morning to do just that. Instead he had pulled a second blanket out of Sonny’s closet and made the couch his bedchamber.

This is where Leo wakes him up only one and a half hours later, or better say he tries to because Barba stubbornly ignores the boy poking his index finger in his ear.

“Leo, leave him. He has five more minutes before he needs to get up.”

“You always say five minutes make no difference.”

“This time they do!”

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t make coffee yet.”

And while Amanda tells him not be such an "understanding bitch", Sonny does understand Barba. Sleeping in one bed with a child that is not your own is a lot to ask to begin with. It should be fine because Barba is not just anyone and Leo sleeps on Sonny’s side with Sonny sandwiched between his two most loved ones. But Sonny understands that Barba must feel uncomfortable with Leo sleeping in bed with a strange man. And yes, it’s not like Sonny can’t understand him there.

The second time Leo comes to their bedroom in the night is only a week after that and Sonny curses his mother for making her one and only grandson help her with her scarce gardening.

This time though Sonny and Leo do not find Barba on the couch the next morning, but instead snuggled up in Leo’s bed.

“What?” Barba only answers a gape-mouthed Leo.

“I didn’t allow you to sleep in my bed.”

“You slept in mine, so I sleep in yours.”

“Daddy’s bed is not yours.”

“Half of it is.”

Leo blinks, his little face displays the complicated line of thinking going on in his head.

“But I can always sleep in my daddy’s bed.”

“See, I only own half a bed and you even have usufruct.”

“What?” Leo scrunches his nose, but Barba is obviously too grumpy so early in the morning to explain.

“Aw, poor you,” Sonny laughs, but Barba only sends him a withering look.

“I wanted to keep my cerumen to myself and now please tell me coffee is ready!”

“What are these words? I understand nothing.” Frustrated Leo slums down on the couch, his giant plush lion tightly tugged into the crook of his arms.

“Usufruct is a lawyer word that means you’re allowed to use the advantages of my bed even though it’s not your property and cerumen simply means earwax.”

Sonny hands Barba a giant coffee mug, the Fordham Law one. Barba reaches for it willingly all the same and wraps his first three fingers around the handle.

“Sure, he will keep that in mind.”

“What?”

“Do you really think he will start using those words?”

“So? Am I not supposed to answer when he asks a question?”

“He doesn’t need to learn Latin at age four.”

“This means I shouldn’t explain him?”

“He won’t remember those words.”

“Why are you using them then?”

“It’s the way I talk, you can’t expect that I-“

“Anyway!” Leo interrupts them, he holds up his own cocoa mug with his first three fingers wrapped around the handle. Sonny presses his lips together to bite back his smile. He doesn’t know if any of his two men notice that they are mirroring each other and Leo clearly has trouble holding the heavy mug with his tiny fingers that way. “I was just thinking and it’s okay, Uncle Rafi, I allow you to sleep in my bed. But only when _I_ have a bad dream. If _you_ have a bad dream you can stay with daddy.”

Sonny quickly leads his lips to his own coffee so that he won’t laugh. Chuckling and sipping though turns out to not be the best combination and he needs to cough. He looks over to Barba who watches him over the rim of his coffee mug. There is no doubt about him clenching his jaw. Sonny widens his eyes and answers him with an insisting look, he points with his head towards Leo. Barba closes his eyes for a second and then takes a mouthful of his coffee.

He sighs.

“Thanks, Leo. That’s very generous of you.”

* * *

They reach the end of March when Sonny decides that he is handling this all wrong.

He is pretending that there is no problem where Barba may not see one at all. And Sonny still manages to convince himself that he shouldn’t say something. Three months into their relationship and everything is going well. They get along well. They enjoy their time together, the quiet and the loud moments, and the sex is just _beyond_ anything that Sonny could put into words. Sonny had barely been so sure about anything in his life and he feels that Barba feels the same. They are in love and that is good.

And there is no way that Sonny would want to jeopardize what they have.

This is why Sonny decides that he should simply do something. _Yes_, he thinks that he cannot force anything so this is why he won’t push. But maybe he could give a little nudge, just a teeny tiny nudge. It’s not fair of him after all that he feels dashed and at the same time doesn’t voice his concern.

The logic is obvious, if he wasn’t going to say a word he will make actions talk.  
“Do you want some more-“

“Sonny, don’t you dare give me anymore food.”

Barba leans back in his chair and pads his stomach. Not a crumb of food is left on his plate. Sonny had decided to make them something special for their date night. Steak, pepper sauce, peas, carrots and potato gratin. Some soft music is playing from the sound box. He had chosen a good red wine and Barba’s most favorite Scotch is waiting on the kitchen counter.

“There’s still dessert. But dessert is not food-“

“Oh my god, is it our anniversary? Did I miss that?”

“No, but now I’m a bit sulky now about you not knowing when our anniversary is. It’s that basil-lemon sorbet. That’s not so heavy.”

“It’s on Tuesday.”

“Aw!” With a big grin on his face Sonny leans forward and kisses Barba on his cheek.

Barba leans into the touch so Sonny decides to linger. Half bent forward across Barba’s tiny kitchen table is not the most comfortable position, but feeling the heat of his boyfriend makes up for it.

“You smell so good.”

Sonny’s stupid heart blossoms like a complete fool. Unlike during work Barba is not churlish about giving Sonny compliments when they are own their own and weirdly enough Sonny seems to not get used to it.

“We can have dessert afterwards.”

“You should think through the logistics beforehand, I’m so full there’s no way I can fuck now.”

Sonny rolls his eyes and kisses Barba one last time before he gets up.

“Then you need to have the sorbet now. Do you want Scotch or more wine?”

“Scotch, you can have the rest of the wine.”

“Okay.”

While Sonny takes his homemade sorbet out of the freezer, he gathers his bravery. He clears his throat and asks as casually as possible.

“There’s a tiny play at Leo’s daycare on Tuesday. You can come if you want to.”

Sonny dies to see the look on Barba’s face, but he deliberately doesn’t turn around. His chances are slim anyway, but with his back turned to him he might be able to convince his boyfriend that he isn’t hiding his excitement.

“Uh.”

“You know, they were practicing the whole week and now there’s a little performance.”

He pours Barba’s Scotch and pauses, waiting for Barba to answer before he turns around to him.

“On Tuesday you say?” Sonny finally hears Barba saying.

“Yes.” Sonny takes the two bowls of sorbet in his hands and puts them on the table. “It’s at half past four, but I need to go to Sing Sing that day so I don’t know if I’ll be back on time. So if you’ll be there, I’ll join you two a little later?”

“You know the Lewis trial is on Wednesday I will have to prepare.”

Sonny stops short. Quite surprised he looks at Barba who reaches for his spoon as if nothing odd is happening.

Sonny had contemplated if he should bring up the whole thing about being late at all. But this is how Sonny had had the idea in the first place. He probably wouldn’t be able to be back in Manhattan that early so he thought he could ask Barba instead of one of his sisters to be there on time. Sonny had expected Barba to protest, something along the lines of that he wouldn’t know how to watch the kid all on his own. Sonny could say that it’s only for thirty minutes tops and all the teachers are there, too. He would just need to sit and chat with the other parents.

“You can do that on the weekend.”

“It’s a tough case, I’d rather have it fresh in my mind.”

Barba leans forward and starts spooning the sorbet. Sonny’s face freezes.

“Damn, that’s good.”

“Thanks.”

Sonny still stands there with his hands in his waist until he reminds himself to move. So he turns around to get Barba his Scotch.

“The play isn’t very long, I’m sure you can be home by six or seven.”

Sonny sits down and takes his spoon. He feels the blush heating up from underneath the collar of his shirt. Maybe this is a step too far. Barba had said no in a polite way, Sonny should leave it at that. He had promised himself after all that he wouldn’t have any expectations and still some half-hearted apology is not what he had expected.

“Sonny, you know how it is. I’m gonna go through everything until Midnight anyway and I want to catch a good night sleep before the trial.”

“Okay.” Sonny takes a spoon of the sorbet and thinks that he really outdid himself on that one.

“I’m sure Gina can go with you.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I can watch the recording?”

Sonny swallows and deeply regrets having brought it up in the first place. He doesn’t think he is asking too much and he tries to tell himself that he had prepared himself that Barba would refuse. He just wishes that Barba would be honest enough to him to just outright tell him so instead of searching for a lame excuse.

_So he does know_, Sonny thinks. _He knows why I ask and doesn’t say anything anyway._

Sonny squares his shoulders and smiles.

“Leo would love that.”

* * *

“Okay, look- Here’s what we’re gonna do.”

Sonny stands in his living room and thinks.

His plans for this Saturday had been so easy. He had worked overtime the whole week, the case had demanded it and Sonny with his loyalty to his duty had made no attempt to fight it. With the result that he had neither seen his boyfriend nor his son very much.

The way to his son’s heart is usually a sugary one, but pizza does the trick for him as well. All the more happy Sonny had been when Barba had agreed to participate in unnecessarily elaborate afternoon of baking pizza. Unfortunately, a call from Lieutenant Benson is now cutting their plans short.

“I’m gonna drop Leo off at Aunt Gina’s on my way to the precinct and just pick him up on my way back. Okay?”

“Why do I need to go to Aunt Gina?”

There is flour in his hair and tomato sauce on his cheek and Leo is clearly not happy that the afternoon won’t continue as fun packed as it had started.

“Aunt Liv called, she needs my help.”

“I think Aunt Liv can’t ever do anything on her own.”

“I’m sorry, champ.”

Sonny already has his phone pressed against his ear, but his sister just won’t pick up.

“Uncle Rafi, what are you gonna do?”

“You can just wait here, Rafi. Liv promised me it’ll just take an hour. I’ll be back in no time.”

Barba takes a mouthful of his Scotch and shrugs his shoulders. Sonny knows that he had brought along some paperwork. For him it doesn’t matter if he will go through it here or in his own apartment.

“Damn, Gina doesn’t pick up. I think her date yesterday went well.”

“What date?”

Sonny ignores his son’s question while he scrolls through his phone to find his niece’s number.

“I’ll call Mia then, okay? She will need to come over. That’s the quickest solution for now.”

“Oh, so you’re not gonna answer him _that_ question?”

Sonny just sends Barba a withering look before he calls Mia’s number.

“Leo, a date means that you’re meeting with someone you like. So your father implied that your aunt went to dinner with a gentleman yesterday and then back to his home.”

“Rafi!”

“That’s just the truth!”

“Why would she go to his home?”

“Leo, I don’t know where- Mia? Yeah, hi!”

Sonny angrily gestures to Barba to shut up but he only laughs in return.

It turns out that Mia also cannot come over because she had just arrived at her mother’s house in Staten Island. It would take too long for her to come back to Manhattan.

Sonny hangs up the phone and takes a deep breath. He doesn’t really want to take Leo along. He will need to talk to a young girl who refuses to talk to anyone else but Sonny. And even if there are protected rooms and toys at the precinct, knowing what happened to her is disturbing enough, Sonny doesn’t want to have his son there.

But then again, there seems to be no other way. “Okay, I think you need to come along.”

“No, why?”

“Leo, it’s a police station. Will you find that exciting, please?”

“I’ve been there before.”

“I’m really sorry, okay? But I need to go. It’ll be quick.”

Leo crosses his arms in front of his chest and shakes his head. “I don’t wanna go outside.”

“Leo, please-“

“It’s just an hour you say?”

Surprised, both Leo and Sonny turn their head to Barba.

“Yeah, it should be quick.”

“I can watch him for an hour.”

Sonny looks at Barba skeptically and feels terrible for it. For three entire months he had wanted to hear something along those lines and now when he got them he doesn’t want to believe them.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, why not?”

Barba pours down the rest of his Scotch as if nothing out of the ordinary is happening. And maybe this agitates Sonny even more. That Barba pretends that him offering to watch Leo is something completely normal.

“Yes, daddy, why not?”

“He can just watch some TV.”

“Yes!”

“What? No!”

“I thought he didn’t watch all day.”

“No, I didn’t. I didn’t watch at all.”

“See?”

“No TV!”

“Daddy!”

“You can read your books.”

“I don’t wanna read them.”

Barba rolls his eyes. “It’s okay, Leo, then show me this card game your grandfather doesn’t know how to play.”

And this is how Sonny leaves them. Quite frankly, it’s only making him feel a little panicky. Barba apparently really knows nothing about children and while Sonny doesn’t think anyone is going to die within the hour he is gone, he doesn’t want to risk it. Moreover, Barba is probably in no mood to play the Carisi family version of Gin with a child. This is why Sonny hurries to be back home as quickly as possible.

It is nearly two hours later when Sonny walks up to his apartment door. He is relieved not just about having been able to help the poor girl but mostly to finally be back to release Barba.

Before he can hit the key into the lock though, Sonny stops short.

There are weird sounds coming out of the apartment. There are people cheering. It sounds like a ball is hitting on the floor and Leo is clearly laughing.

Quickly Sonny turns the key in the lock and opens the door to the scene.

Sonny is just simply and completely stunned. He blinks a few times and even turns around to check if he had opened the door to the right apartment. But the scene doesn’t change.

Both, his boyfriend and his son have a white remote in their hands. The coffee table is removed, pushed against a wall or to be more precisely out of the way.

His boyfriend and his son stare at the screen of the TV where two avatars who look suspiciously like Barba and Leo wear tennis socks and face each other in a tennis court.

Sonny detects the plastic bags from a larger electronic shop crumbled on the floor. He is not surprised about that. As Sonny is trying his best to keep the time his son spends watching TV to a minimum they of course do not own a Nintendo Wii. Or at least they didn’t until now.

Barba stretches his arm with the remote in the hand over his head and mimes hitting a tennis ball. The Barba Mii on screen makes an according sound. But Leo only laughs when he is able to hit back the virtual ball clever enough so that Barba cannot reach it.

“Fuck!”

Sonny widens his eyes. Even if either one of the two would have realized that Sonny came home he isn’t able to cry “language”. He is just too perplexed by what is happening in front of him.

If he is happy about it then he doesn’t know and where he is supposed to be angry he can’t because he is too shocked.

Sonny slams the door behind himself and says loudly: “Hi, I’m back.”

Both, his boyfriend and his son have the audacity to not look caught. They both send him a short glance and mumble a “hi”.

“I guess none of you wants to tell me how this happened.”

If they had heard his question they deliberately choose to ignore it because Leo is too busy laughing and Barba too busy cursing at the boy having scored another point.

Sonny shakes his head and just decides to get a beer from the kitchen.

From across the room he catches the eye of his son who is grinning at him openly.

Sonny nods. “Well done, Leo.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! What happens in the next chapter? Let's say I know how this fic is going to work out, I will need to hack out how to get there.


End file.
